Home and Away’s Georgie Parker hardly needs an introduction given her impressive career.
From her breakthrough in the ’80s on A Country Practice, before taking on the iconic role of Terri Sullivan in beloved Aussie drama All Saints, the six-time Logie Award winner has also presented on Play School and performed in numerous Aussie plays over the years. What can’t she do?!
In a nod to her A Country Practice days, Georgie is now starring in the new play How To Plot A Hit In Two Days, a story that follows a pivotal moment in Aussie TV. Set in 1985, the play is centred on the tear-jerking moment where A Country Practice’s beloved Molly Jones died, a moment that left millions of Aussies devastated.
Georgie stars as Judy, the head writer, as the writing team is tasked with crafting the emotional death scene.
With so many iconic and gut-wrenching deaths on Aussie TV over the years – from Molly, to Claire on McLeod’s Daughters, Mel on Packed To The Rafters, Patrick on Offspring, not to mention the numerous Home and Away deaths, Chattr spoke with Georgie about some iconic TV moments over the years.
Georgie Parker on Irene’s sad goodbye to Home and Away after 32 years
Georgie worked with Lynne McGranger, who played Irene Roberts on the soap for 15 years, after joining the cast in 2010. Lynne reprised the role of Irene back in 1993.
She told Chattr it was “great” for Lynne to be given a solid storyline to play with in the last few months of her time on the show.
“I think it’s super hard, I’m married to a writer, so I kind of know, the light exploration into, how do we get rid of a character and give them something to play and give the audience something to really get attached to and invested in. Because there’s nothing less satisfying than someone just packing a bag
and going, it has to be engaging for all the characters around that person,” she said.
“So you have to do something, not just for them, but for everyone who loves them, is involved with
them, and then the audience. And it can’t be too sad, but it has to be sad enough. It has
to be respectful, have engagement with the audience and with the other actors as well. And honouring the character, because she’s been on screen for nearly a lifetime. 33 years, it’s a lifetime on screen.”
On A Country Practice and How To Plot A Hit In Two Days
Despite once starring in A Country Practice, Georgie didn’t have any issues stepping into the shoes of Judy.
“When I’m doing this play, because I’m playing a writer, and we’re externally talking and discussing the characters and story and plotting things. I forget that I was on the show. So that’s interesting, because I’m playing a writer. It’s different,” she said. “But also, we’re talking about a time when the senior cast were there, so it was a different generation. So, I’m talking about people that I didn’t work with. It was the moment before I came on as Lucy, about four and a half years later.”
“A Country Practice was a beloved drama for lots of reasons, and it resonated with the audience. So, we’re kind of dipping back into the world of how they created that show and the ideas behind it. It was quite a particular world. It was enhanced comedy, enhanced drama. Everything was just slightly coloured up, but still believable and relatable,” she said.
Georgie Parker reveals the one TV death that sticks out to her the most
Georgie said if she ever had to pick out another iconic fictional death to dramatise on stage, it would be Dr. Mitch (Erik Thompson) on All Saints. She said it’s also the storyline that sticks out most to her during her career on Australia’s biggest dramas.
“It was such a tragedy,” she told Chattr. “You had this beautiful man who was in love with this woman, and they finally got to be together, finally. And then he starts acting out of sorts, and starts calling her the wrong name. And we find out he’s got a brain tumour. And he tries an operation because, he says, ‘I can’t, I don’t want to go this way, so I’m going to risk having an operation because I want to be with you’. And of course, it doesn’t work out. So, it was really hard to play because Eric and I worked really well together, but at the same time, it was such a weird and great challenge to do it. I really loved working with him.”
How To Hit A Plot In Two Days is showing from August 29 through to October 11, at Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli, Sydney. Find out more here.
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